Dark Child
by Katkid
Summary: The Digimon have been diginapped! What will happen when an unknown person...or thing... tries to eliminate the Digidestined?
1. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer stuff: I don't own Digimon. Don't sue me. If you don't like this story, simply remember that it is only my harmless insanity and nothing more. Also, I'm sorry if everything isn't exactly accurate. This is my first Digimon fic, so bear with me. Now without further ado: the story!  
  
  
  
  
  
Dark Child-Part I: Blue Eyes  
  
  
Midnight...  
  
A shadowy figure silently glided into the midst of the soundly sleeping Digidestined. It saw one of them out of their sleeping bag-apparently they had been keeping watch, but now they were sleeping like a log.   
  
The person left no footsteps in the dusty road-nor did they make the slightest noise whatsoever. It carefully removed a large bag from inside its black cloak and moved to the child nearest them-a boy with red hair and a laptop computer next to his sleeping bag.   
  
The person sprinkled a brightly sparkling powder onto the bug-like Digimon next to the boy, gently picked up the Digimon and put it into the bag. They continued on to each child in turn, every time sprinkling the powder onto their Digimon, them putting them quietly into the bag.   
  
Once all eight Digimon had been put into the bag, the person began to glide away. Just as they were getting to the woods, they stole a quick glance back at the slumbering children.   
  
Blue eyes flashed brightly from inside the dark hooded robe, then the person vanished without a trace...  
  
~*~  
Warm, piercing sunlight filtered down through the tree canopy, gently rousing the eight Digidestined from their sleep.   
  
The sunlight was so bright and warm it even awoke Mimi. She groaned in annoyance and turned to her other side to attempt to get more sleep.  
  
Finding that turning to the other side did no good, Mimi slowly opened her eyes and yawned, not at all pleased to be awake so much earlier than usual, even in the Digital World.   
  
While rubbing her eyes, somebody tapped her on the shoulder lightly.  
  
"Not now, Palmon, it's too early in the morning to talk," Mimi sleepily muttered.  
  
"Mimi, it's Joe," Joe replied, wondering how anybody could possibly be so out of it in the morning.   
  
"Joe? Well what do you want?" Mimi asked, raising her voice a little.  
  
"I was just wondering if you've seen Gomamon. He wasn't here when I woke up," Joe explained.  
  
"No, I haven't," Mimi irritably answered. She looked around for Palmon-only to see that the flowery Digimon was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Palmon?" she wondered.  
  
"It's not just Palmon," Sora said, overhearing Mimi wondering aloud. "Biyomon's missing, too. In fact, all the Digimon are gone."  
  
"What?" Mimi asked, surprised. She looked around the camp for any of the Digimon. They were all nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Patamon! Patamon, where are you?" TK shouted, looking around for the winged Digimon.  
  
"Where could they be?" Kari whispered nervously.  
  
"Maybe they're hiding," TK hopefully answered.  
  
"No, they have never hidden before. I believe they were stolen," Izzy calmly replied.  
  
There was a moment of shocked silence at this idea, then Tai shouted: "How can they be stolen? Why would anything here want them? The Dark Masters are gone!"  
  
Matt angrily turned to Tai and argued: "Well how else would you explain them disappearing?"  
  
"I-" Tai faltered for words.  
  
"There, you can't," Matt triumphantly said.  
  
"What are we going to do?" TK asked, his voice edged with worry.   
  
"I suggest that we split into four search parties and look for them," Izzy proposed.  
  
Everyone looked at Tai. Tai thought for a moment before saying: "Yes, let's do that."  
  
~*~  
Hours later, and exhausted group of six Digidestined met back at the camp with nothing to show for their efforts.   
  
"Where's Izzy and Joe?" Tai questioned, holding back a yawn.  
  
"Right here," Joe said, emerging from the forest with Izzy right behind him.  
  
"What took you guys so long?" Matt quarried.  
  
Izzy held up a piece of very old parchment and explained: "We found this while we were looking for the Digimon. I believe it could be a prophecy."  
  
"A prophecy?" Sora repeated. "What does it say?"  
  
"It's in an ancient code," Izzy replied. "I'll try and figure it out tomorrow."  
  
Everyone was so tired; they simply accepted this answer and began to get ready for bed.  
  
~*~  
TK woke much earlier than usual. He quietly sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, noticing that no one else was awake. He yawned and lay back down, hoping to get some more sleep.  
  
After about five minutes, TK turned to his other side, then five minutes later he rolled onto his back. Finally, he climbed out of his sleeping bag with a sigh. He just couldn't get comfortable, so he decided to take a walk.  
  
TK slipped away from the rest of his friends silently and began walking through the forest near them. The leaves were covered with refreshing dew and the tall grass on either side of the trail lightly brushed his legs.  
  
He emerged from the woods to a small, deep pond. The rising sun made the gently rippling water sparkle dazzlingly and TK sat next to the water's edge. The water was so clear he could see fish far below drifting lazily about near the sandy bottom.   
  
TK felt his eyes droop sleepily and he yawned. Then, without really meaning to, he fell asleep...  
  
When he re-awoke, the sun was high in the sky. Oh no, they must be worried about me, TK thought to himself. He hadn't meant to doze off-the peacefulness of the scene had just made him feel so tranquil it was hard to resist.  
  
With a sigh, TK began to climb to his feet. Suddenly, he felt strong hands grabbing his shoulders tightly. Sharp fingernails dug into his back. He cried out in surprise. He was lifted off his feet and tossed into the pond.  
  
Sputtering angrily, TK began to swim back to shore-only to find that he couldn't keep his head above water. A heavy stone was tied to his foot and it was dragging him underwater.  
  
"Help!" TK managed to shout before he was pulled under. He was pulled to the bottom struggling the whole time.  
  
TK realized he was running out of air, but he didn't dare open his mouth. He feebly began trying to untie the rope around his foot, but his efforts made no difference.  
  
Finally, he was unable to hold his breath any longer. He tried to draw his breath-but got a mouthful of water instead. His senses were becoming foggy. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was a momentary glimpse of flashing blue eyes looking down at him from high above...  
  



	2. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon! Don't sue me! As before, please cut me some slack because this is my first Digimon fan fiction. Oh, yeah, and you should probably read part one first because this starts where that left off. Enjoy!  
  
  
Dark Child-Part II: Accident?  
  
  
Matt woke, yawned and slowly sat up. I must be the first one up, he thought, realizing that it was early in the morning. That was fine with him; he liked to be awake before everyone else. Then he noticed the empty sleeping bag. So somebody WAS awake...  
  
It's TK, Matt thought with surprise. He hadn't heard his younger brother go off. Oh, no! TK's missing! I don't want to wake everyone else up, but this is important!  
  
"Everybody wake up! TK's missing!" Matt shouted.  
  
Mimi groaned and crossly answered: "What's the big idea waking me up so early?" This was the second day in a row she had been woken out of a sound sleep.  
  
"What is it? What's happening?" Tai asked, more alert than Mimi.  
  
Matt took a deep breath and tried to sound calm as he said: "TK is missing." Unfortunately, his voice was a little shaky. It hinted that he was very afraid for his brother.  
  
Six pairs of eyes shot over to TK's sleeping bag to find it void of its occupant.   
  
"Why would he just wander off?" Sora wondered aloud.  
  
"Maybe he just wanted to go for a walk," Kari suggested, though this thought didn't seem likely to her.  
  
"We have to find him," Matt said, a bit calmer than he had said his last statement.  
  
"Now? Before breakfast?" Mimi asked, her eyelids still heavy.  
  
"Do you think he might have been kidna-" Joe started, but Izzy put his hand over Joe's mouth before he could finish.  
  
"Matt looks really upset, I don't think we should say something like that right now," Izzy whispered. Joe nodded and Izzy took his hand away from his mouth.   
  
"Come on, TK could be in trouble," Sora said, climbing out of her sleeping bag and heading for the forest.  
  
Soon, six other kids were right behind her...  
  
  
~*~  
Where IS he? Matt thought. He had been searching for almost five hours and still hadn't found a trace of TK.  
  
He's got to be here somewhere. He has to be! Matt told himself. Despite this, he was feeling more and more like TK wasn't just lost in the woods. Don't think about that, he commanded himself and pushed that thought to the back of his mind quickly.  
  
"TK! TK, where are you!?" Matt shouted through the forest. He listened for anything that might be TK, but heard nothing. Matt sighed and thought he's got to be all right.  
  
That was when he heard it: a faint cry for help. It sounded like TK.  
  
"TK! TK, I'm coming!" Matt yelled, running toward where he had heard the shout. Leaves whipped into his face and the grass beat against his legs, but Matt didn't slow down. He emerged from the woods suddenly. He was on a narrow strip of beach bordering a clear pond.  
  
He's not here, Matt thought, beginning to turn away. Then he saw something... A faint ripple in the water, but it was enough to catch his eye.  
  
Matt raced over to the edge of the pond and looked in. There was TK. The water was clear enough for Matt to see him easily. Matt also noticed the rock tied to TK's foot.  
  
Quickly, Matt threw off his shoes and dove into the water. The water would have been pleasant for a swim had he not been trying to rescue his brother.   
  
He dove straight to the bottom and fumbled with the knot around TK's foot. Whoever had tied it had done a good job; the knot was enormous. Luckily, Matt managed to loosen it enough to slip TK's foot out.   
  
Matt's lungs burned as he picked up TK and shot to the surface. When he broke the surface, Matt quickly got back to shore and laid TK gently on the sand.  
  
Suddenly, Matt heard someone shout: "TK, is that you?"  
  
"We're both here!" Matt yelled back.  
  
Tai and Kari stepped onto the beach closely followed by Izzy, Joe, Mimi and Sora.  
  
"Is TK all right?" Tai asked upon seeing TK stretched on the sand.  
  
Joe carefully lifted TK's limp arm and took his pulse. Then he checked for breathing.   
  
"He's fine," Joe replied.  
  
Matt let out a sigh of relief.   
  
TK sat opened his eyes and coughed violently.  
  
"Are you all right?" Izzy questioned.  
  
TK nodded, still coughing a little. Tai and Matt helped him to his feet.   
  
Mat felt relieved, but a terrible thought crossed his mind.  
  
"OK, who did it?" he angrily asked.  
  
"Did what?" Sora asked.  
  
"Who tried to kill TK?" Matt shouted.  
  
Tai furrowed his brow and said: "What are you talking about? Why would someone try to kill TK?"  
  
"Don't play dumb with me! SOMEONE tied a big rock to his foot and threw him in the pond!" Matt responded.  
  
"Did someone do that, TK?" Kari quarried.   
  
TK thought for a second and said: "Yes, that's why I couldn't swim. It was someone with blue eyes."  
  
Six pairs of eyes fell on Matt.  
  
"What, you think I did it?" Matt asked, a note of disbelief in his voice.   
  
Everyone was silent.  
  
"Why would I try to kill my own brother? I saved him!" Matt yelled.  
  
"Makes sense to me," Mimi stated.  
  
Everyone hastily agreed.  
  
As they were walking away, Matt spotted a piece of rope. Deciding it might come in handy he picked it up and caught up with everyone else...  
  
  
~*~  
After another day of searching for their Digimon, the Digidestined still were digi-less. They sat around a small fire eating a rushed dinner.  
  
"Izzy, did you have any luck decoding that prophecy?" Tai asked.  
  
Izzy shook his head and replied: "This code doesn't seem to have any meaning. I'm still trying, though." He took a sip of water and began to think about the prophecy.  
  
Meanwhile, Joe and Sora were talking about what had happened earlier that day.  
  
"I wonder who could have done that to TK," Sora said.  
  
"Well, from what he told us, the clues point to Matt, but I can't see him doing that to TK," Joe responded.   
  
"I just don't get it, though. I mean, Matt's the only one here with blue eyes besides TK and TK wouldn't try to drown himself," Sora reasoned.  
  
"Maybe there is someone or something else here," Joe quietly suggested.  
  
Sora thought about this for a moment. The thought of someone else being in the Digiworld was odd. She had always thought they were the only ones there. It scared her a little.  
  
"What do you think, Sora?" Joe asked.  
  
"Huh? Sorry, I was spacing out," Sora said, snapping back to reality and quickly forgetting any thoughts about somebody being in the Digiworld with them.  
  
"What do you think about everything that's happened? First our Digimon disappear, and then someone tries to kill TK. What do you think they'll try next?"   
  
Sora again thought. She hadn't considered the fact that whoever was causing all the trouble might strike again. She didn't want to think about it.  
  
"I don't know. Lets just hope they're done and we can find our Digimon," Sora finally said.  
  
Izzy sat back a little way off from the rest of the group. His talk with Tai had made him want to decode the message more than ever and he was working on his computer typing quickly.   
  
Suddenly, he felt a little sick. The world seemed to spin for a second and he closed his eyes tightly. When he opened them again, everything was normal.  
  
Izzy shrugged it off and began working again. Suddenly, his hands began shaking and he felt very sick. The world spun for a second time and he cried out. His laptop slid from his lap, but he didn't notice...  
  
Kari sat reflecting on everything that had been happening. It all made her nervous. She decided to push it to the back of her mind for the moment and enjoy her dinner.  
  
Upon looking up, Kari noticed that Izzy was lying limply against a tree trunk. She wasn't all that concerned-she figured he was probably just working on his laptop-until she noticed the laptop lying on the ground next to him.  
  
She got to her feet and walked over to Izzy. Immediately, she noticed that his eyes were glazed and his breathing was shallow.  
  
"Everyone, quick, something's wrong with Izzy!" Kari shouted.  
  
Immediately, the six other Digidestined were by Izzy's side.   
  
"Izzy, are you OK?" Tai asked.  
  
Izzy didn't seem to hear him.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Mimi anxiously asked.   
  
"He looks really sick," Matt said.  
  
Joe bustled through them all and examined Izzy before saying: "I think he's been poisoned..."  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Digimon. Never will. Part III, comin' up! Enjoy! (Sorry if this isn't as good as the other parts)  
  
  
Part III-Suspicions  
  
  
  
  
Joe angrily opened Izzy's canteen and smelled the water in it. His eyes widened in surprise. The water reeked of a strong type of poison.  
  
"What are you doing, Joe?" Mimi questioned, watching intently.  
  
"Someone put poison into Izzy's water."  
  
Mimi was shocked. The world they were in was scary enough, but now they couldn't even drink their water?   
  
Mimi wanted to say something, but as she opened her mouth, she noticed that Joe was asking Tai some questions. She closed her mouth and listened.  
  
"How much of his water did he drink? I don't know because it's been a while since we've refilled."  
  
"I don't know. I only saw him take a little sip," Tai replied.  
  
Well, that's lucky, Mimi thought. If Izzy only had a little of the water, he should be OK, or so Mimi hoped. She stole a glance at Izzy who was in his sleeping bag. If she hadn't have known better, she would have said he was sleeping, but his eyes were slightly open.  
  
Mimi shivered. This whole business was creepy. Who could possibly be doing all this to them? She turned it all over in her mind for the hundredth time that night.  
  
TK said it was someone with blue eyes. Then that leaves Matt. But why would he be doing this? Then again, he WAS the first one on the beach. Could he have saved TK just to cover up? And then there was Izzy being poisoned. Who could have gotten a hold of his water and poisoned it? And what about the prophecy? Did that have something to do with it all?   
  
Mimi sighed in frustration and rubbed her temples. All this hard thinking was giving her a whopper of a headache.   
  
Why would they go after TK? Why would they go after Izzy? Mimi wondered. She sighed, slowly got to her feet and began to walk toward the woods.  
  
"Where are you going?" Tai asked upon noticing Mimi slipping away.  
  
"For a walk," Mimi replied. She could understand why Tai would be nervous about anyone going off on their own, but in her opinion a walk was perfectly fine.  
  
Once she reached the forest, Mimi instantly wished she hadn't come. The woods were foreboding enough in the light, but in the dark they were positively terrifying. Mimi was beginning to wish that she had brought someone with her, but decided it would be foolish to go back simply because she was afraid.  
  
After a few minutes, Mimi stopped walking and leaned against a gnarly tree. She heard a dry twig snap loudly.  
  
"S-sora? Is that you?" Mimi stuttered, her heart leaping to her throat.  
  
No answer...  
  
"Tai, you can come out now. Joe? Kari? TK? Matt? ...Izzy?" Mimi hesitated a bit before the final name thinking it would be silly to call out for Izzy, but decided to say it anyway, just in case.  
  
She listened for any answer at all to calm her jumpy nerves, but heard nothing.  
  
Just my mind playing tricks on me, Mimi thought, sighing in relief. I really shouldn't let myself be so nervous.  
  
Mimi felt as though she were being watched. Stop it, she commanded herself.   
  
Though she told herself over and over again that nothing was going to happen, her heart was hammering in her chest.  
  
Why would somebody be watching you? She reasoned to herself.   
  
A bright glint caught her eye. Two bright blue eyes were shining in the darkness ahead of her.   
  
"M-m-matt? Is that y-you?" Mimi stammered, taken aback.  
  
The eyes were entrancing. Something about them made her immobile. She couldn't take her eyes away from the piercing gaze.  
  
As quickly as they had appeared, the eyes vanished. Another bright glint caught her eye for a split second. It seemed to be metallic.   
  
A... Knife? Mimi thought, surprisingly calm.   
  
She felt something graze her upper arm and felt something warm trickle down her arm. Mimi looked at her arm to see a knife stuck through her dress sleeve. It had nicked her arm just enough to draw blood.  
  
Knife... Blue eyes... Blood... Mimi gently touched the blood on her arm, gave out a silent scream and fainted.  
  
  
~*~  
Izzy vomited for the third time that night.  
  
The first time he had thrown up, Sora had been afraid that he was getting worse, but Joe explained that it meant he was getting rid of the poisons.  
  
Matt carefully wiped Izzy's clammy forehead with a damp rag when he was finished.  
  
"Feeling better?" Matt whispered.  
  
Izzy closed his eyes and nodded slightly.  
  
"Matt, where's Mimi?" TK asked.  
  
"What are you talking about TK?" Matt asked. "Isn't she here?"  
  
TK solemnly shook his head.  
  
"Last I saw of her was after dinner when Izzy got sick," Matt added. "Maybe Tai knows."  
  
TK walked over to Tai and said, "Hey, Tai? Where's Mimi?"  
  
"What, she's not back yet?" Tai quarried, a note of concern in his voice.  
  
Matt heard Tai.  
  
"What do you mean she's not back yet? You know where she went?"  
  
"Well, yes and no."  
  
"Which one is it?"  
  
"She went on a walk, but I don't know where she went," Tai replied.  
  
Sora also heard the conversation taking place.  
  
"She did what?" Sora questioned.  
  
"Went on a walk," Joe answered for Tai.  
  
"When did she leave anyway?" Kari wondered.  
  
Tai thought for a second then said: "It was about an hour after dinner."  
  
This response sent chills down all the children's spines.  
  
"We have to go look for her," Sora stated, her voice quivering.   
  
Five of the kids rose and began to run for the forest.  
  
"No, wait, one of us should stay with Izzy," Tai realized. "Kari and TK should stay, too."  
  
"I'll stay," Joe offered.  
  
Tai nodded.  
  
"But I want to help," TK argued.  
  
"TK, we'll find her. You have to stay safe, though," Matt replied.  
  
TK nodded and went with Joe and Matt back to camp.  
  
  
~*~  
"Mimi! Are you OK?"   
  
"Mimi, answer us!"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
The three Digidestined searched for their friend desperately in the night.  
  
Tai ran down the narrow trail feeling guilty. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let her go. I should have noticed she was gone a long time, he thought.  
  
He was running so quickly, he nearly tripped over something in the path. Upon closer inspection, the something he had almost tripped over was Mimi.  
  
"Guys, I found her!" Tai yelled. He noticed blood on the ground and his heart leaped to his throat.  
  
Sora and Matt quickly found Tai and Mimi.  
  
"Good job, Tai. Hey, what's wrong?" Sora asked, unable to see the blood in the dark.  
  
"She's bleeding!" Tai cried.  
  
Sora looked closely at Mimi and noticed that one of her arms had blood all over it.  
  
"What happened?" Sora wondered.  
  
"Tai, look," Matt said, pointing to the knife stuck in Mimi's dress sleeve.  
  
Mimi's eyes snapped open to see Tai sitting next to her.  
  
"Mimi, are you OK?" he asked.  
  
Mimi looked around at Sora, then Matt. When she saw Matt, she screamed loudly.  
  
"What's wrong?" Matt asked.  
  
Mimi shakily pointed to Matt's eyes. "Blue eyes," she whispered...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: Same as always... I don't own Digimon. I just write fan fics. Enjoy Part IV!  
  
  
Part IV-Fire  
  
  
  
Sora sat by the dying fire and listened as Mimi told her story to the rest of the group. They had moved camp into the forest to where Mimi had almost been stabbed.  
  
"I was walking in the woods and then I stopped for a second. Then I felt like I was being watched then these blue eyes appeared out of nowhere and I couldn't move. The eyes disappeared and the next thing I know a knife was flying through the air for me," Mimi related.  
  
Sora saw Tai shoot Matt a suspicious glare.  
  
Matt also saw.  
  
"You think I did it, don't you? Everyone does. I didn't though!" Matt yelled.  
  
"Well, you do have blue eyes," Tai replied.  
  
"Oh, so now I'm a murderer just because I have blue eyes? Better watch out for TK, he's got blue eyes, too, you know," Matt shot back.  
  
Izzy had managed to sit up in his sleeping bag to work on the prophecy again. He looked up from his work and said: "I don't think we should go around making undue accusations. I didn't see any blue eyes."  
  
Tai sighed and apologized: "Matt, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be saying it's you if I'm not sure who it is."  
  
"Maybe the prophecy says who it is," Kari suggested.  
  
"How's it going, Izzy?" Sora quarried.  
  
Izzy again looked up from his computer and replied: "I've got a piece of the first line down now, but this code is confusing. I don't think what I've got right now will help us much."  
  
"Well, go ahead and tell us what you do have," Joe encouraged.  
  
"All right, but it's not much. All I have right now is: A new evil will arise."  
  
"Well, we sort of figured that out," Mimi retorted, fingering the new hole in the sleeve of her dress. "Good job, though, Izzy."  
  
  
~*~  
  
Kari was deep in the woods. . . Alone. She could hear the others calling out for her, but she couldn't return their calls; the words stuck in her throat.  
  
A thick smoke was floating through the threes, making it harder and harder to breathe. A choking cough tore through her. She realized with a shock that a fire had started in the forest.  
  
"Kari! Kari, where are you!? Answer me!" she heard Tai shout. He sounded very far away.  
  
Another cough escaped her mouth and Kari shouted out: "Tai, I'm here!" Her words seemed to be swallowed up by the thick smoke.   
  
A different sound was becoming louder and louder: a roar-the roar of an approaching wild fire.  
  
It was unlike anything Kari had ever heard before. "Tai, help me!" Kari shouted. Her cries were dwarfed by the rising noise. The forest was becoming hotter and hotter.  
  
Kari ran, her eyes tearing from the heavy smoke getting into them. A flaming branch fell to the ground directly in front of her. Kari turned the other way, trying to see where she was going, but the smoke was only thicker.  
  
A wall of fire was rushing toward her from behind. Kari turned in a circle. Fire to the front, fire to the back-fire everywhere. She was in a ring of fire and it was closing in on her.  
  
"Help!" Kari screamed as the fire came closer and closer. . .  
  
Kari's eyes snapped open. A dream, just a dream, she thought. But was it? Smoke. . . Thick black smoke was clogging the air. There really was a fire. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Is everyone out?" Joe asked once the Digidestined had arrived back in the clearing they had originally been in.  
  
"I think so," Sora panted, exhausted from the run.  
  
"Wait, where's Kari?" Tai asked, looking around frantically for his younger sister.   
  
"Wasn't she right behind us?" Mimi asked.  
  
"She's still in there!" TK cried.  
  
Tai immediately began running back into the fiery woods.  
  
"Tai, wait! It's too dangerous!" Izzy warned, but Tai was already too far away to hear. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Kari, Kari where are you!?" Tai screamed through the roar of the fire. He couldn't believe his younger sister was still in the woods.  
  
He strained his ears to hear anything that could possibly be his sister, but heard nothing.  
  
"KARI!" he shouted again.  
  
Still no reply. The smoke was stinging his eyes and making him cough, but he still pressed on.  
  
He stumbled into the area they had been camping in and found Kari, seemingly unconscious on the ground.  
  
"Kari! Wake up, Kari!" Tai shouted.  
  
Kari suddenly sat straight up. "It's not a dream!" she cried.  
  
"Come on, Kari, we have to get out of here," Tai choked out.  
  
He pulled Kari to her feet and began running back toward the clearing dragging Kari behind him.  
  
"Tai, I can't run this fast!" Kari shouted, trying to be heard over the fire.  
  
"Just try, Kari!" Tai shouted back over his shoulder.  
  
The smoke was extremely thick. Tai didn't even know if he was going the right way.  
  
He tried to tell if they were even on the path anymore, but he wasn't able to see the ground at all. Then his salvation came: "Tai! Kari! Where are you!?"  
  
Tai coughed and shouted back: "I'm here! Where's the clearing?!"   
  
"Out here!" another voice answered.  
  
Tai raced forward and shouted: "Am I closer?"  
  
"Yes!" a third voice replied. "Keep coming the way you are!"  
  
Kari looked straight ahead and saw the clearing through the smoke. "We're almost there," Kari murmured.  
  
Just as they got to the edge of the woods, fiery branches crashed down in front of them, narrowly missing the two siblings.  
  
"We have to go around!" Tai shrieked. He turned around and saw fire burning directly behind them.  
  
"No, not like my dream..." Kari whispered.  
  
There was no way out. It was a ring of fire and it was closing in.  
  
"Come on, Kari," Tai ordered, racing toward the fiery wall in front of them. He went through backwards quickly to shield Kari from being burned. Just as suddenly, they emerged into the clearing.  
  
"Tai, Kari, you're all right!" TK cried out upon seeing them.  
  
Tai coughed violently and passed out from all the smoke he had inhaled.  
  
"Is he going to be OK?" Sora asked, her eyes wide.  
  
"I hope so," Izzy replied. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
I was lucky, Kari thought. She gingerly touched a burn on her shoulder. I only got a little burn.  
  
She looked over at her brother lying in his sleeping bag. He was still unconscious hours after the fire. His face had a burn on one cheek and his hair was singed in some places. Kari knew he had serious burns on his arms and legs as well, but she couldn't see them through the sleeping bag.  
  
Kari couldn't stand it. If she had woken up earlier, she would have gotten out with everyone else and Tai wouldn't have had to come in after her. She cried gently.  
  
"I'm sorry," Sora comforted. "He's going to be OK."  
  
"Do you really think so?" Kari sniffled.  
  
"Of course," Sora lied. She had no idea if Tai was going to survive or not.  
  
Sora held back the tears that were threatening to come from her own eyes and wiped Kari's tears away.  
  
"How do you think the fire started?" Kari wondered. "We put out the fire that we made."  
  
Izzy answered this question: "The fire wasn't an accident. Somebody had to have started it themselves. There's no way a forest fire could start from a dead fire."  
  
"But who would do that?" Mimi whispered, her voice trembling fearfully.  
  
"My guess would be the same person who's been doing the other stuff," Joe replied.  
  
"Then who was it?" Matt coldly questioned. "I know what everyone probably thinks. You all think it's me, don't you?"  
  
A long and uncomfortable silence followed this remark.  
  
"It wasn't," Matt finally whispered. He glanced over at his best friend and shivered. The only thing he could do now was hope for the best. . .  



	5. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, I simply write fan fiction, so please don't sue me! Enjoy part five!  
  
  
  
Part V: New Accusations  
  
  
  
  
Sora woke the next morning feeling depressed. Tai hadn't gotten any better overnight; he still hadn't even woken up. This new evil business was really beginning to get to her. It was only a matter of time before somebody ended up being killed.  
  
She recalled the events of the past few days with a shudder. TK had nearly drowned-it was by pure luck that Matt had managed to save him in time. Izzy had been poisoned, but he had recovered. Mimi had almost been stabbed to death-if the knife had only been a few inches closer to her body, she would have been killed. And now the fire... Kari had been hurt and Tai was still hovering between life and death.  
  
Sora glanced over at the other Digidestined and realized she was the first awake. Silently, she slid out of her sleeping bag. It was cold-they needed a fire. Ironic that they would need something that had nearly killed two of them.  
  
Shivering slightly, Sora tiptoed toward the woods. The forest fire had burnt out leaving charred stumps and blackened trees behind in the place of the lush, green trees that had once been there. She glanced over to her left, saw an area the forest fire hadn't destroyed and decided it would be a good idea to get a little fire wood from that area.  
  
In the pit of her stomach, Sora knew it was a rash thing to wander off alone. Ignoring the tugging feeling in the back of her mind, she advanced toward the trees.  
  
  
~*~  
  
Izzy yawned and slowly sat up. The events of last night were still fresh in his mind. Thinking about them made him shiver, so he quickly pushed them to the back of his mind. He decided to work a bit more on the prophecy to help keep his mind off the danger they were all in.  
  
As he reached for his laptop computer, Izzy noticed they were one person short. Sora, he thought. He decided it would be wise to wake the others, especially after all that had happened in the past few days.  
  
"Hey, everybody, Sora's gone!" Izzy said in a voice just under a shout.  
  
Joe groggily sat up and asked: "What do you mean Sora's gone?"  
  
"Just what I said! Sora's gone," Izzy repeated.  
  
Soon, everyone (except Tai, who was still unconscious) was wide awake.   
  
"You don't think she's..." Mimi whispered.  
  
"I hope not," TK whimpered.  
  
Matt suddenly burst out: "OK, who stole it?"  
  
"Stole what?" Kari wondered.  
  
"My rope!" Matt shouted in frustration.  
  
Everyone looked at each other in confusion.  
  
"I found a rope after I saved TK and picked it up," Matt exasperatedly explained. "Now it's gone."  
  
Matt looked expectantly around the group, but was met with no reply to his question. He decided to let the matter drop and sighed dismissively. He had other things to worry about, like Sora turning up missing. That almost certainly meant another attack-and more blame on him.  
  
  
~*~  
  
Sora walked into the forest enjoying the serenity of the place. It was so difficult to be relaxed after all that had happened in the past few days.  
  
The trees were once again covered with a light sprinkling of dew. It slowly dripped off the leaves creating a pleasant mist in the forest. The air was cool and crisp, giving Sora a sense of security.   
  
She began gathering up some brushwood staying alert in case anybody tried to sneak up on her. Though the woods seemed peaceful, Sora felt an underlying mask of something different-something evil. She shivered and surveyed the small pile of brushwood in her arms. She decided it was more than enough to start a fire and began to walk back to camp-slowly at first, then faster and faster until she was at a sprint.  
  
When did I get so far into the woods? She wondered feeling panic edging into the back of her mind. Swallowing her fear, she slowed her pace and took a deep breath.  
  
Nothing has happened yet, it's OK, Sora told herself. She knew she was being silly; just because she was alone didn't mean she would be targeted. . . But why did she have the nasty little nagging feeling tugging at her?   
  
Something in the trees glinted. Eyes? Sora quickly wheeled around searching for the deadly blue eyes she had heard so much about, but saw nothing.  
  
I'm really acting like a baby, Sora thought to herself. "Nothing's going to happen," she said out loud. The sound of her voice gave her more courage, so she began chanting quietly: "Nothing's going to happen" over and over.  
  
"Nothing's going to happen, nothing's going to ha-" Sora was sharply cut off by a cold hand clamping over her mouth. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Where do you think she could be?" Kari wondered aloud.  
  
"I don't know," Mimi replied.  
  
Izzy considered a moment before decisively saying: "Well, knowing how practical she is, she probably went to stock up on firewood."  
  
"Then that means she's in..." Joe trailed off, his face becoming white as paper.  
  
"We have to get her out of there!" Mimi shouted.  
  
"Wait, who's going to stay here with Tai?" TK wondered.  
  
"I will," Matt volunteered.  
  
The five other Digidestined set off in search of Sora. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
Sora let out a strangled shout through the hand over her mouth. The person was surprisingly strong, strong enough to drag her away. She saw the bright, almost glowing blue eyes shining out of a dark cloak they were wearing.  
  
Suddenly, they stopped walking. Sora struggled, but it was half hearted and useless. The person took their hand away from her mouth and reached into the folds of their cloak, giving Sora a chance to speak.  
  
"W-w-who are you?" she quivered.  
  
A cold laugh escaped the person.  
  
"W-what do you want with us?" Sora demanded, still unable to get away.  
  
The person drew out a rope from their cloak-a rope that was knotted into...  
  
"A noose," Sora breathed.  
  
The cloaked figure tossed an end of the rope over the branch of a tree and secured the noose end tightly around Sora's neck.  
  
"No, no, please no," Sora pleaded. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
Still the figure was silent.  
  
"Answer me!" Sora screamed.  
  
"Sheranamon lets no secrets out," the person murmured. Sora noticed that the voice was calm, cool, but decidedly feminine. It's not Matt, Sora realized with a shock.   
  
She noticed the person walking to the other end of the rope and picking it up. She's going to hang me! Sora fearfully thought. She struggled against the bind, but it did no good.  
  
"Help!" she screamed. . .  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Sora! Come on, answer us!" Mimi shouted into the forest. She was beginning to lose all hope of finding her friend.  
  
"You don't think they've already struck, do you?" TK whispered.  
  
"WHERE ARE YOU, SORA!?" Joe shouted.  
  
The five children strained their ears for any sign of Sora. TK took a deep breath preparing to shout out again, but Kari stopped him.  
  
"Listen! It's her!" Kari hissed.  
  
Then they heard what Kari was talking about. Sora-and it sounded like she was in trouble.   
  
  
~*~  
  
Sora was shaking in fear. Why doesn't this person just do it already? She wondered. Sora suddenly realized that the cloaked girl was enjoying watching her being tortured.  
  
She tightly shut her eyes, waiting for the snap of the rope that would signal the end of her life-but it never came.   
  
"Sora!" she heard Izzy cry.  
  
Sora slowly opened her eyes to see Izzy, TK, Kari, Mimi and Joe looking at her with a horrified look on their faces. She quickly surveyed the area, looking for the cloaked girl-but she was gone.  
  
"There's Matt's rope," Joe bitterly said.  
  
"I knew we shouldn't have left Matt alone," Mimi whispered, ripping the noose off of Sora's neck.  
  
"Matt?" Sora quarried, dazed.  
  
"Of course Matt," Izzy shot back.  
  
"But-it wasn't," Sora murmured.  
  
"What do you mean it wasn't?" Mimi inquired, giving Sora a quizzical look.  
  
"It wasn't Matt. It was someone else," Sora explained, still a bit dazed.   
  
A shocked silence followed this remark. . .  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	6. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own Digimon and probably never will. Enjoy part VI!  
  
  
  
Part VI: Further Accusations  
  
  
  
Upon returning back to camp, the six Digidestined saw that Matt was still with Tai.  
  
"See? I told you it wasn't Matt," Sora whispered.  
  
Matt noticed them and said: "Oh, good, you found Sora!"  
  
"Yes, she was just hanging around," Mimi muttered, accenting the word "hanging" darkly.  
  
"You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?" Joe questioned.  
  
Matt thought for a moment and replied: "I don't have any idea what you're talking about."  
  
"Someone tried to hang her. With your rope," Izzy bluntly said.  
  
"So who was it? Did anyone find out?" Matt quarried.  
  
Izzy gave him a hard look and said: "Well, lets consider... I believe we can safely narrow down our suspects to two people. You and Joe."  
  
"I didn't do it," Joe and Matt chorused.  
  
"Matt, you had the opportunity to do everything. You were the first to find TK, anyone could have poisoned my water, anyone could have attempted to stab Mimi, anyone could have started the fire and you had the best chance of anyone to try to hang Sora," Izzy explained.  
  
"It could have just as easily been one of you!" Matt shot back. "Izzy, you could have slipped poison into your canteen, Mimi could have stabbed herself and Sora could have set it up to look like she was being hanged. How many times do I have to say I didn't do it before you guys believe me?" Matt wondered, hiding the fact that he was hurt that his friends didn't believe him.  
  
Izzy was about to answer Matt's question when a moan came from Tai as he slowly opened his eyes.  
  
He glanced around as his eyes slipped in and out of focus and questioned in a feeble voice: "what's going on?"  
  
"Well, we're trying to figure out who could be causing all the trouble," Joe explained.  
  
"Yeah, and someone tried to hang Sora," Kari added.  
  
"Sora?" Tai weakly asked. "Is she all right?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine," Sora answered.  
  
"Has Izzy gotten any more of the prophecy?" Tai wondered.  
  
"No, Tai, not yet," Izzy replied.  
  
"Are you feeling any better?" Kari questioned.  
  
Tai nodded, too weak to do much else. He rolled onto his side, winced in pain and looked at his arm. It was covered with blisters.   
  
"Kari, you're OK, right?" Tai asked.  
  
Kari nodded.   
  
Tai noticed that Izzy had once again begun to work on the prophecy before he slipped back into sleep.  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Why should I have to?" Matt shouted.  
  
"To see if it's you," Joe dryly replied.  
  
"It wasn't him," Sora replied.  
  
TK held back tears. He believed his older brother. Why wouldn't anyone else?  
  
"Matt, it's just for one night," Izzy added.  
  
Matt sighed and replied: "I still don't see why you all can't just believe me."  
  
"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry," Joe replied.  
  
Matt finally sighed and nodded.   
  
Joe produced the rope that Sora had nearly been hanged with and bound Matt securely with it. Matt didn't say a word while this was happening; he could only wonder why his friends wouldn't believe him no matter how hard he tried.  
  
"There, done," Joe finally said.   
  
Matt started to fall over, unsteady with his legs tied together. Sora and Mimi caught him and laid him gently on the ground.  
  
"Matt, are you OK?" Sora asked.  
  
Matt refused to answer.  
  
"Sorry, Matt," Mimi added.  
  
"I'll watch him," Izzy said.  
  
The others agreed and Izzy sat down to work on the prophecy yet again...  
  
  
~*~  
  
After a few hours, Izzy nearly had the whole prophecy figured out. He worked rapidly, his fingers flying over his laptop keyboard.  
  
Matt had gone to sleep at some point, but Izzy hadn't noticed.   
  
Izzy finally finished typing and hit the enter key on the keyboard.   
  
"Prodigious!" he shouted as the code on his computer screen reformed into English.  
  
He read the prophecy eagerly. By the halfway point, his eyes were wide with fear. Once he finished, he quickly jumped from his seat on the ground and turned to run back to the others to tell them the prophecy.  
  
When he turned, his eyes were met with a cloaked figure. Blue eyes flashed from inside the hood of the cloak menacingly.  
  
Izzy backed up in surprise.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, attempting to keep his wits about him.  
  
The person laughed ever so slightly and said: "I thank you for making my job easier."  
  
Izzy was surprised that the voice was female.  
  
"What do you want? What are you doing here?" Izzy asked, disliking this new person more and more.  
  
"I won't have you telling the others about your new discovery. I won't have you ruining it all," the cool, nearly melancholy voice coldly answered. The cloaked girl threw shimmering powder into Izzy's face.  
  
Izzy felt his eyes becoming heavy. Though he fought against it, he was soon in a deep sleep.  
  
"You're next," the girl muttered, tossing some of the powder on Matt and dragging him easily away...  
  
  
~*~  
  
"Izzy! Wake up!" Mimi shouted.  
  
Izzy opened his eyes groggily.   
  
"What happened?" Joe quarried.  
  
Izzy felt like going back to sleep more than anything else, but the remembrance of the events of the previous night quickly made him more alert.  
  
"I found out what the prophecy said," Izzy began.  
  
"Well then where's Matt?" TK asked, wiping tears away from his face.  
  
"The Dark Child must have taken him!" Izzy moaned.  
  
The six other Digidestined (Tai had managed to gather enough strength to get back on his feet) looked at each other in confusion.  
  
Izzy sighed and explained: "It was in the prophecy."  
  
"Well, what did the prophecy say?" Tai demanded.  
  
Izzy took a deep breath and replied: "A new evil will arise, its apprentice being the Dark Child. Once united, the two darknesses shall attempt to destroy the children of Courage, Knowledge, Light, Hope, Sincerity and Love. Once these attempts fail, the child of Friendship shall be taken by the Dark Child."  
  
"We have to find Matt!" TK wailed.  
  
  
~*~  
  
Matt awoke not in ropes, but in manacles. Other than the heavy manacles, he had no restrains. He surveyed his surroundings in confusion.  
  
He was in an enormous room made entirely out of stone. It would take at least two minutes to walk from one side of the room to the other. The only light came from the occasional torch mounted on the wall. Directly ahead of him was a raised area with hundreds of minuscule steps carved into the stone. Atop the platform was a throne that looked like an easy chair made out of pure black fabric.   
  
Sitting in the chair was a person in a black cloak. Matt couldn't see anything of the person except for evil blue eyes that were burning from inside the large hood. They were looking directly at him with a piercing stare.  
  
"So you're finally awake," a very unemotional girl's voice stated.  
  
"W-who are you?" Matt stammered.  
  
The girl sitting in the throne stood up to her full height and replied: "You may know me as the Dark Child, servant to the all-powerful lord Sheranamon."   
  
"But who ARE you? What do you want with me?" Matt asked.  
  
The cloaked girl replied: "That you shall find out soon enough."  
  
Matt decided he should ask all his questions right then while this girl seemed to be in a somewhat agreeable mood.  
  
"One last thing... What do you look like? I mean, really," Matt questioned.  
  
The girl replied: "You want to see my face?" Matt wasn't 100% sure, but he thought he detected the slightest hint of uncertainty in her voice.  
  
"Yes," Matt answered. He wanted to see who it was that was turning all his friends against him.  
  
The girl slowly lowered the hood of her cloak, then removed the cloak completely. Matt's breath caught in his throat. The girl was beautiful, but at the same time deadly.  
  
She had very long, thick jet-black hair. She was wearing black jeans and a black top as well. Her skin was white as salt. Embedded in the middle of her forehead was a small black diamond. She would have looked like a black and white painting if it weren't for her piercing, deadly blue eyes...  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. This is only a harmless piece of fan fiction by me. Do not sue me out of house and home.  
  
  
  
  
Dark Child-Part VII: Misconceptions  
  
  
  
Tai, Sora, Mimi, TK, Kari, Izzy and Joe searched through what remained of the forest for Matt and the Dark Child.  
  
Mimi glanced over at TK and sighed worriedly. He had been very quiet and depressed all day.  
  
She turned her gaze to Izzy. He looked as though he had been through a tornado, a fire and a flood all in the same day. She had given up talking to him, all he would say was: "it's my fault. It's all my fault" over and over again.  
  
"Do you think we'll find Matt?" TK asked no one in particular in a bland tone.  
  
"Of course we will," Sora replied without looking back.  
  
Mimi knew Sora was lying though her teeth. How would they ever find Matt? For all they knew he could be dead. Mimi bit her lip and forced her tears back. It wouldn't be of any help to anyone to cry.  
  
Suddenly, a bright light flashed through the area. Mimi gasped and shielded her eyes trying to find its source.  
  
Finally, her eyes adjusted to the bright light and she saw TK's crest was glowing with a white light as bright as the sun.  
  
TK's eyes were half closed and his mouth hung open loosely.  
  
"TK, are you all right?" Tai shouted.  
  
TK didn't answer; he began walking off the path as though he were in a trance.  
  
Dumbfounded, the other Digidestined could only follow in silence.  
  
  
~*~  
  
Matt stared at his crest in amazement. It was glowing so bright that it lit the whole room like day.  
  
The Dark Child took a flying leap from the top of the platform and landed lightly on her feet in front of him.  
  
"Do you really think this little necklace will save you?" she questioned, grabbing the crest as she spoke.  
  
"Put it down," Matt muttered.  
  
The Dark Child yanked the crest from around Matt's neck, breaking the cord painfully on the back of his neck.  
  
"You are nothing," the Dark Child replied as she ground the tag and crest to powder with her heel.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
  
~*~  
  
TK's crest stopped glowing and he stopped walking. He shook his head to clear it.  
  
"Are you OK?" Joe asked.  
  
TK nodded and pointed to an enormous castle for off in the distance.  
  
"Matt's there," he whispered.  
  
  
~*~  
  
The Dark Child looked deep into Matt's eyes. Matt felt as though her were frozen. He noticed the Dark Child was glowing with black energy, but was still immobile.  
  
The black energy hit him unexpectedly. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain stopped.  
  
"You're stronger than I anticipated. No matter. I'll weaken you," the Dark Child calmly said.  
  
Matt lay on the floor gasping for air. What was that? He thought.  
  
The Dark Child removed a long whip from her jeans.  
  
Matt tried to move out of the way, but she was too quick for him. She cracked the whip hard on Matt's back. Matt gritted his teeth, refusing to give the Dark Child the satisfaction of hearing him scream.  
  
He felt the whip hitting him over and over and each time his attempts of escape became feebler and feebler until finally the stopped altogether.   
  
Matt felt the whip wrap around his neck and he was yanked to his feet after what seemed like an eternity of torture. He could feel blood running down his back.  
  
"Have you had enough?" the girl muttered, more to herself than to Matt.  
  
Again the black energy sent Matt reeling, but he didn't give in to the darkness that was fighting to consume him.  
  
The girl growled in frustration and a small black tornado suddenly hit Matt. He couldn't hold his screams of agony in anymore.  
  
"AHHHHHH!" he shrieked as he flew through the air.  
  
He hit the ground hard and tasted something salty in his mouth. He realized it was blood.  
  
Matt vaguely noticed the Dark Child glowing with black energy a third time before the excruciating pain hit him.  
  
Unable to resist any longer, he slipped into the darkness...  
  
  
~*~  
  
"I've lost track of him on my digivice!" Izzy cried.  
  
"Well then lets retrace our steps," Kari replied.  
  
"No, he's disappeared," Izzy grimly replied.  
  
"Something must have happened to him!" Mimi shouted.  
  
"I believe he was behind this door," Izzy said, motioning to the door next to them.  
  
Joe threw open the heavy door and gasped. The room was enormous. In the very back of the room was a platform with hundreds of steps carved into it. On the platform was a pure black throne and sitting in the throne was the Dark Child.  
  
"I knew you would come," the emotionless voice of the Dark Child rang.  
  
"What did you do to Matt?" Tai hesitantly asked, fearing the answer.  
  
The Dark Child laughed cruelly and fingered a small beaker filled with a silvery gas that was hanging around her neck.  
  
"Here's your friend," the Dark Child said. She threw Matt from the top of the platform.  
  
Matt sailed through the air, hit the ground and rolled slowly.  
  
The seven other Digidestined were stunned. His back was covered with deep whip marks and a thin trickle of blood seeped from his mouth.  
  
"Matt!" TK wailed, running to his older brother's lifeless form.  
  
The six other children were not far behind. When they reached Matt, TK knelt next down next to his older brother and murmured: "Please wake up, Matt, please. I still need you."  
  
Joe gently steered TK out of the way and lifted Matt's limp wrist to check for a pulse. He shut his eyes and sadly shook his head.  
  
"He's gone."  
  
"Dead?" Kari whispered in disbelief.  
  
Joe nodded and set Matt's arm gently on the floor.  
  
"No, he's not dead," the Dark Child drawled.  
  
"He doesn't have a pulse! I think that's dead!" Tai shouted.  
  
The Dark Child clasped her hands so the fingertips were barely touching and Tai suddenly felt icy cold hands wrapped around his neck.  
  
The Dark Child squeezed her hands together and Tai was lifted off the ground tearing at his neck.  
  
"Now that I have silence, I will explain," the Dark Child continued. "Does anyone else have something to say?"  
  
The other Digidestined stood in shocked silence watching Tai struggle in midair.  
  
"Now as I was saying, he isn't dead. His soul is simply gone."  
  
"What did you do to him?" Sora breathed.  
  
"Sheranamon loves the souls of children. It will make a tasty snack," the Dark Child replied, eying the beaker that hung around her neck. She unclasped her hands and Tai dropped to the ground gasping for breath.   
  
"And what of your other friends? Have you forgotten them?" the Dark Child mocked. She pressed a button on a small remote control and a panel on one wall slid away revealing a cage with all eight Digimon.  
  
The Digimon gasped at the condition of the Digidestined. Matt lay lifeless on the ground. Sora had rope marks around her neck. Mimi had a scar on her arm. Tai looked the worst after Matt; he still had severe blisters all over his arms and legs.  
  
The seven children began racing to their digital friends.  
  
"Stop! One step closer and I'll blow us all to kingdom come!" the Dark Child called, holding up the remote control menacingly.  
  
"Agumon! Digivolve!" Tai shouted.  
  
"Agumon Digivolve to..." nothing happened at all. "Huh? I'm still me."  
  
"Your little toys are useless here," the Dark Child stated. "Why don't you just accept defeat? I'm sure Sheranamon would love to eat your souls as well."  
  
A voice rang out: "Not if I have anything to do with it!" The voice sounded nearly exactly like the Dark Child's except for the fact that it was different in one way-it had feeling. "Stop this crusade, Dark Child-or should I say Alicia?"   
  
"You stay out of this," the Alicia (more commonly known as the Dark Child) hissed. "It's none of your business."  
  
"Oh, but it is," the bearer of the voice jumped from behind the gigantic throne.  
  
Seven jaws dropped. This new person looked the same as the Dark Child minus the black diamond...  



	8. Default Chapter Title

Disclaimer: No, I could never hope to own Digimon. This is only the result of my insanity.  
  
  
Dark Child-Part VIII: Resolutions  
  
  
"You're never going to win," the Dark Child growled. "Sheranamon will be here any second to end it."  
  
As if on cue, an ominous crash reverberated through the room. When the dust cleared, a gigantic Digimon was hovering in the air. It was relatively humanoid with a head, arms and legs, but all resemblance to a person ended there. The face was an ashen gray color and the eyes were like two pits of burning fires. The hair looked as though it was made of dead intertwined vines. Each finger ended in an extremely long claw.  
  
"Sheranamon!" the Dark Child gasped, falling to her knees in a low bow.  
  
"Sheranamon," the new girl muttered, hatred coursing through her voice.  
  
Sheranamon looked at the new girl and said: "What do you think you're doing here? You are you own weaker half, Alicia."  
  
The seven Digidestined were puzzled by this remark. Wasn't the Dark Child called Alicia?  
  
Finally, Tai steeled his nerves and asked the question that was running through everyone's minds: "There's two Alicia's?"  
  
Sheranamon turned and noticed the Digidestined for the first time.   
  
"So you did come after all," she nonchalantly stated. "To answer your question, young enemy, yes, there are two Alicia's."  
  
This did little to explain anything to the frightened children.  
  
Sheranamon muttered something under her breath and said out loud: "Split personalities. It is my specialty."  
  
"You mean both of them are the same person?" Izzy questioned, as always the first to understand.  
  
"Looks like we have a winner," Dark Alicia replied.  
  
"I will deal with you soon enough," Sheranamon drawled to the Digidestined. She waved her hand and the heavy door slammed shut before she turned to both Alicia's. "Now my friend, destroy your lesser half," she commanded the Dark Alicia.  
  
Dark Alicia smiled smugly and sent her black tornado after her other half. The other Alicia put her hands in front of her face to protect herself and the tornado hit her hands. Suddenly, the deadly tornado stopped unable to go any farther.   
  
Dark Alicia growled in rage as her other half laboriously detoured the tornado for the roof.  
  
"Do not fail me," Sheranamon ordered.  
  
Dark Alicia let out an unhuman battle cry and ran to her other half. She took a leap into the air to smash into Alicia, but Alicia moved out of her evils half's way just in time.  
  
Dark Alicia hit the wall hard and dropped the remote control she had previously been holding.  
  
"There's only one thing I don't understand," Sora muttered. "If the evil one's so brave and strong, why isn't the other one a coward?"  
  
"Courage and ruthlessness are two different things," Sheranamon cackled as Dark Alicia succeeded in barreling into Nice Alicia. The two were struggling against each other's power.  
  
The Digidestined watched the two girls struggling with a mixture of fear and awe. It was a terrible sight, but they were unable to look away.  
  
Time seemed to stay frozen like that forever before the beaker that had been around Dark Alicia's neck fell off in the struggle.  
  
Sheranamon looked away from the battle, truly interested in the Digidestined for the first time.  
  
"The soul of one of you own..." she muttered.  
  
Mimi raced to the spot where the beaker now lay as Sheranamon flew to the same place. They reached the beaker at nearly the same time. In a flash, Mimi had it under her foot.  
  
"Give it to me," Sheranamon hissed.  
  
Mimi had had enough. She raised her foot and stomped on the beaker. A thin crack appeared in the glass.  
  
"If you break it, I will destroy you," Sheranamon warned in her mocking tone.  
  
Mimi just didn't care anymore. She only wanted it to be over and if it meant her dying in the process, then so be it. She smashed the beaker.  
  
The silvery gas inside shone brightly and Sheranamon screamed, driven away by the light.  
  
At this point, two things happened. The light shot across the room and into Matt's body and Sheranamon flew in the opposite direction, snatching the remote control that Dark Alicia had dropped with her as she did.  
  
Sheranamon pressed one of the many buttons on the remote control and bellowed: "This place will go down with a bang in five minutes, if you catch my drift!"  
  
Sheranamon flew across the room, snatched up the Digimon and shot out of the castle quick as lightning. The door of the room drifted open. Matt's tag and crest glowed brightly and were soon reconstructed from the powder they had once been on the floor. The tag and crest floated over to Matt.  
  
Matt stirred and slowly opened his eyes.  
  
"Matt! You're all right!" TK cried, racing to his big brother and giving him a bear hug.  
  
Matt winced as TK touched his back and said: "Hey, do you think I'd let them win?"  
  
"I hate to break up this little reunion, but we've gotta get out of here!" Joe shouted.  
  
Matt clambered to his feet and raced out of the room along with TK, Mimi, Kari, Tai, Joe, Sora and Izzy.  
  
Tai shot one final look behind his shoulder at the two struggling girls before racing out of the room with everyone else.  
  
Once they were outside, Izzy panted: "we can't stop yet! If this place is going to explode, the shock wave will be tremendous!"   
  
The eight children continued running until they heard a loud, explosive noise behind them.  
  
They turned to see the entire castle go down in flames.  
  
"I wonder if Alicia got out of there," Kari muttered.  
  
"I highly doubt it. If by some miracle either of them made it out of the castle, they would have been in the immediate surroundings," Izzy replied.  
  
"Huh?" Tai asked, confused by Izzy's elaborate way of speaking.  
  
"In other words, they'd be killed by the shock wave," Izzy explained.  
  
There was a moment of silence following this remark, then TK said: "I think we won. At least for now anyway."  
  
"Wait a second, where's Gabumon?" Matt questioned.  
  
"Looks like Sheranamon got a consolation prize," Joe darkly muttered...  
  
  
~*~  
  
Sheranamon glided through the air holding the cage with all eight Digimon in silence.  
  
It's too bad I had to destroy my loyal servant, she thought. Yes, Dark Alicia would have been invaluable. At least I finally rid myself of her pesky other half as well.  
  
She looked down at the cage and chuckled. They may have won the battle, but the war is just beginning...  
  
END  
  
  
(A/N) Well, that's the end of my Dark Child story. Hope everyone enjoyed it. A sequel will be coming out soon!  



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